As the Philistine leaders were passing in review with their units of hundreds and thousands, David and his men(A) were passing in review behind them with Achish. Then the Philistine commanders asked, “What are these Hebrews doing here?”

Achish answered the Philistine commanders, “That is David, servant of King Saul of Israel. He has been with me a considerable period of time.[a] From the day he defected until today, I’ve found no fault with him.”(B)

The Philistine commanders, however, were enraged with Achish and told him, “Send that man back and let him return to the place you assigned him.(C) He must not go down with us into battle only to become our adversary during the battle.(D) What better way could he ingratiate himself with his master than with the heads of our men?

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Footnotes

  1. 29:3 Hb obscure

As the Philistine rulers marched with their units of hundreds and thousands, David and his men were marching at the rear(A) with Achish. The commanders of the Philistines asked, “What about these Hebrews?”

Achish replied, “Is this not David,(B) who was an officer of Saul king of Israel? He has already been with me for over a year,(C) and from the day he left Saul until now, I have found no fault in him.”

But the Philistine commanders were angry with Achish and said, “Send(D) the man back, that he may return to the place you assigned him. He must not go with us into battle, or he will turn(E) against us during the fighting. How better could he regain his master’s favor than by taking the heads of our own men?

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